UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Some leaders attending the UN's annual debate here on Thursday called for the reform of the UN Security Council.

Speaking to the second day of the General Assembly's general debate at UN Headquarters, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that the UN must be reformed in order to "become a much more effective institution" to deal with the world's many challenges.

"However, it is without a doubt that the reform of the UN system will be incomplete if not accompanied by the Security Council reform," he said.

"I would like to underscore once again that Turkey is in favor of the enlargement of the Security Council in the non-permanent category," Erdogan added.

In his remarks, Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed belief that Japan has the "capacity to play an even greater role in the United Nations, and above all at the Security Council, as a 'bridge' among various countries."

"Japan will continue to engage actively in the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, pursuing the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent membership and Japan's permanent membership in the Council," Hatoyama said.

Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma stressed that "an effective and legitimate United Nations cannot be obtained without a truly reformed Security Council."

"We, in Africa have consistently demanded that the historical injustice that is rooted in our under-representation and non-representation in both the non-permanent and permanent categories of the council respectively be addressed without any further delay," Koroma said.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete said that the UN reform will be "incomplete without the structural reform of the UN Security Council, including Africa's attainment of two permanent seats in the Council."

"Giving seats to Africa is not a matter of favor, it is a matter of correcting the historical injustice against the continent and its people," Kikwete said.

Zeljko Komsic, president of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the reform of the Security Council should aim at improving the 15-body's working methods and bring in transparency.

"We all have to be aware of the fact that any further delay in the reform of the Security Council will undermine credibility of this body, whereas the willingness to reach a compromise must be an imperative," Komsic said.

Slovenia's President Danilo Turk noted that intergovernmental negotiations started in the 63rd session of the General Assembly have generated "a positive momentum."

"It is apparent that the expansion of the Security Council in various types of both permanent and non-permanent members has gained broad support among UN member states," Turk said